Young standout among top 10 at 2019 USBC Team USA Trials

LAS VEGAS - The first 20 spots in the women's standings at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials read like a who's who of collegiate champions and Team USA history, but there's a name near the top that's not yet as familiar, though it may be pretty soon.

Taylor Davis, a 19-year-old right-hander who hails from Burton, Michigan, found herself in the spotlight Saturday as the women's daily leader, and she made another run Sunday on a completely different oil pattern, proving she's indeed prepared to compete against some of the best in the world.

After four of the event's five days of competition, Davis is eighth in the overall standings with 71 ranking points, and she is the only youth player among the top 10.

Longtime Team USA member Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, leads with 43 points and is followed by five-time Junior Team USA member Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina (56), and a trio of 2018 Team USA members that includes Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California (58), Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee (65), and Sydney Brummett of Wichita, Kansas (67).

"My goal was to come out here and do the best I could, and I'm glad I have been able to bowl well," said Davis, who is a sophomore student-athlete at Arkansas State. "I was confident coming in, but it's nice to have some success to know I'm on the right track, especially with all of the pros and other top players here, too."

Davis' finishes this week in the record 152-player women's field, in order, have been 16th, 39th, first and 15th, and the oil pattern she was most concerned about has turned out to be her best performance.

The pattern lengths in order have been 36 feet, 38 feet, 45 feet and 41 feet, and the final day will be contested on a 39-foot pattern.

As a youth entry, Davis is eligible to qualify for Junior Team USA, a spot in the U.S. Amateur Championships stepladder and a place on Team USA, potentially alongside 2018 team member and Professional Women's Bowling Association Rookie of the Year, Jordan Richard, a fellow Michigan native, her former collegiate teammate and someone she looks up to on the lanes.

"I knew coming out here I could do it, but I hadn't given anyone a reason to know who I was, since I haven't accomplished anything big yet," said Davis, a high school state champion in Michigan. "For the last few years, making Team USA has been a goal, and just being here has been fun. I'm hoping to stay focused and have one more good day, and hopefully, that can happen."

Clemmer was the runaway leader Sunday, averaging more than 247, including a 298 game, on the way to a 1,484 six-game total.

Kulick finished second with 1,362, Dakotah Hazlewood of Capron, Illinois, was third with 1,340, Lauren Pate of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, finished fourth with 1,332 and 2018 Team USA member Julia Bond of Aurora, Illinois, rounded out the top five with a 1,326 total.

The event's champions are determined by ranking points earned during the five rounds, contested on five different oil patterns. The leaders each day earn one ranking point, second place earns two, etc., with the lowest total of ranking points at the end of the week determining the winners.

Both champions earn automatic spots on Team USA and the chance to represent the United States at the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

Competition at the 2019 Team USA Trials resumes Monday with squads at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern on 39 feet of oil. The sold-out 175-player men's field will bowl first, and the record women's field will compete in the afternoon. The U.S. Amateur stepladder finals are scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

The top four men and top four women at the 2019 Team USA Trials, based on ranking points, will earn automatic spots on Team USA, while two additional men and two additional women will be selected by the National Selection Committee from the pool of players that competed during the week at the Gold Coast Bowling Center.

The National Selection Committee also will select a maximum of five men and five women for the team based on submitted resumes. Those applicants must have been Team USA or Junior Team USA members within the last 10 years or among the top 25 in earnings during the 2018 PBA Tour season or top 25 in points during the 2018 PWBA Tour season.

After the final qualifying round at the Team Trials, the top three amateur men and top three amateur women will advance to a stepladder to determine the U.S. Amateur champions. Both winners will earn spots on Team USA.

If the U.S. Amateur champion already has earned a spot on the team, the spot will be awarded to the next-highest Team USA Trials qualifier based on ranking points.

To be eligible for this year's U.S. Amateur, a bowler must not hold or have held a professional membership (PBA or PWBA) in 2018. Also, anyone who has won a professional title (regional, national or senior) as a professional is not eligible to compete as an amateur.

Through four rounds, Clemmer's 56 ranking points is good enough for the top spot in the women's U.S. Amateur standings, while Bond, the 2017 U.S. Amateur champion, is tied for second with Taylor Bulthuis of Coral Springs, Florida, with 69 points. Davis is just outside the cut with her 71 points.

For youth competitors, the top four boys and top four girls, based on ranking points, automatically will earn spots on Junior Team USA 2019. Two additional boys and two additional girls also will be selected by the National Selection Committee based on performances from either the 2019 Team USA Trials or 2018 Junior Gold Championships.

They will join the youth competitors who already earned their spots on Junior Team USA 2019 through qualifying at the 2018 Junior Gold Championships.

BOWL.com's BowlTV is providing wire-to-wire coverage of the events, including the announcement of Team USA and Junior Team USA 2019.